US Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of ADP Report, Fed Minutes

US stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. The ADP national employment report for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET, while consumer credit data for November will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 11 points to 16,443.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures dropped 1.40 points to 1,829.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 2 points to 3,546.75.

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.17%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.40% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.07%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.15% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.16%. Euro-zone retail sales climbed by 1.4% in November versus October. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged 1.94%, China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.15%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.25% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.17%.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

from “equal-weight” to “overweight.” The target price for Valeant Pharmaceuticals is set to $145. Valeant's shares surged 11.30% to close at $125.35 yesterday.